|
Although
this is not an official site of ekoostik hookah, I will attempt to
portray an accurate representation, through my eyes, of the band's
history since their inception sometime around April of 1991. For me, my
beginning attachment to what we see before us today started with Dave
Katz, pre-hookah if you will. He had an edge to go his own way and do
his own thing. As the keyboardist for Local Color, an at the time around
town local cover band, Dave decided it was time to move on, so he up and
walked away. It was good partings with the guys in the band, but Dave
was into doing his own original music. One night he went to the
Southberg on a Wednesday night. The 'Berg, as we like to call it, was a
small hole in the wall, actually underground. It wasn't really
designed with live music in mind, but more of a social drinking place.
It was dark and lurking with the stench of dried, stale beer. This is
where he ran into a character by the name of John Mullins. It was on
open mic night. This must have been approximately the end of 1990, the
beginning of 1991.They ended up playing a few tunes together, and
played a few on their own as well. Within a few weeks they formulated a
pattern of playing acoustic individually, mixed with a period of time
where they could play together. Things were starting to roll. They met
with a drummer by the name of Steve Frye and things started to become a
regular happening. Cliff and Steve were in a Dead cover band by the name
of Supplication at the time, but were starting to frequent the 'Berg on
a more regular basis. This was something right off the bat that was
impressive. The amount of original material that had already been born
was simply amazing. As the band grew tighter, it was time for the
Supplication combo to make a decision, cover or original. You obviously
know the answer to that one.
They
had to come up with a name. What would it be? I remember sitting over at
Dave, Sharon and Danni's house at the time when Dave and Steve walked in
and said, "We've got a name, wanna hear it?" Surely it was
going to be something out of this world, if only to be representative of
what they were. They said, "ekoostik hookah". I said,
"acoustic hookah". They said, "no, the phonetic spelling
of acoustic, meaning sound as it is heard, hookah meaning a communal
gathering". So there it was. The entity was official, the most
mispronounced, misspelled name ever. It must have been July or
August of '91 around this point. By the beginning of 1992, the
boys were looking for a bit of organization, as they had booked gigs
through a few hookups and spot gigs from friends. The weekly Wednesday
show at the 'Berg started to escalate in crowd capacity. It grew thick
with smoke and heat and the boys just downright jamming as much as they
could. They were looking for a little exposure, a way to get their name
out to the masses. A friend by the name of Harlan Penn took the gamble
and financially allowed them to release their first cassette, Under Full
Sail. Only 500 copies were made before it was buried in the dust, only
to be revived and remastered on CD a few years later. About this time a
percussionist by the name of Don Safrenek caught onto the scene. He had
been playing with a Cleveland -based band by the name of Oroboros. The
specifics I'm not quite sure of, but he also had connections from former
bands for gigs outside of Cowtown. The boys started gigging in not only
Columbus, but all the major cities and college towns they could. They
gigged a few out of staters when it was possible just for kicks.
They picked up a roadie by the name of Big Bill Mershon to help Steve do
the hauling. Don booked the months destinations and they scurried for
transportation. All of them knew at this time that this is what was
going on, this is what they wanted to do. As their crowd grew bigger in
other various parts of the state and their local crowds grew twice fold,
it was time to move on. The 'Berg treated them well, but it was just too
small. So on my birthday in the winter of '93 they played what was
thought to be their last Southberg gig.
There
was a place up High Street by the name of Not Al's Rockers. It was
a long shaped bar with the stage facing the bar, against it's opposite
wall, right in the middle of the bar long ways. It held about 600 with
the patio open and it got crowded in there rather quickly. It was made
of good use until November of '93. During their stint at Rockers, an
unforeseen incident occurred. In mid-August drummer Steve Frye decided
to call it quits, for only reasons only he could tell. In doing so, he
knew of a perfect person for the job. Through a mutual friend of theirs,
Tracy Divelbiss The sound engineer at the time, Steve introduced Eric
Lanese. While Eric and Steve are different style drummers, the addition
of Eric enhanced an already sweet sound. While the band dropped
Old John Henry and All By Myself from their song repertoire, they gained
what proves to be an essential piece of their puzzle. A quick witted,
bright and always hilarious character who can keep a beat with the
accuracy of his own heart. It was at the Dell in Columbus, a three set
show, containing an acoustic set to get Eric primed. His exuberant
personality immediately wore off on the the rest of them and so here
that path still unfolds yet today. A few weeks later the band would be
off on their first Colorado run through the thick of the snow, only to
return to one of their few remaining Rockers shows. The evening they
returned, and having to play the next night, woke up to find that the
van had been broken into and all of their instruments were stolen. Talk
about a loss. Dave's keyboard, the acoustic guitar and John's guitar
were the only instruments not taken. John had his with him, as for the
rest, it's still not known what happened. They overcame this dilemma,
rented guitars, made money, and bought new ones to call their own.
As the
boys crowd grew stronger, the venue size did to. So in the late fall of
1993 and through to the winter of '94, right in between their first and
second Colorado run of shows, they stepped into the Newport Music Hall,
capacity of 1,700. They had played there a few times prior with a few
other bands, but not on a regular basis. This run of weekly shows was a
stellar period for the band. They were starting to get some recognition,
and the crowd was yet still thickening. They had been through a few
management changes here and there throughout this period, each person
taking them a little further than they had been before structurally,
until they ran into a man by the name of Jeff Spencer, Heffe, to which
he is referred. He, to this day, has the mainframe of Acoustic
Productions Incorporated under wrath. Right after their last weekly gig
at the Newport in mid-February of 1994, the band took off for
destinations unknown, starting on another Colorado excursion. When they
returned they continued their weekly gigs at a place in the short north
of Columbus called Chelsie's. This lasted a few months until the heavier
touring took place and the Wednesday weekly escapade became a thing of
the past. The booking and tour schedule started to cover a lot more
ground, a lot more times a year. Michigan and Kentucky started to give
them some attention, as well as a few other Midwest states. The east
coast and eventually the south were getting covered. It was also at this
time that a few more instances occurred where the puzzle changed shape
for yet one more time. Percussionist, Don Safrenek came to the
conclusion that the road he was on was not the road that he must follow,
and announced his departure from the band. It was sad to see a
percussion enhancement leave the slate, but each must follow their own
dream.
A few
months later, in the late spring, early summer of 1994 the idea got
stuck in someone's head to throw their own festival. And like the lyrics
to the song itself, Hookahville
is a place of no hassles or bad attitudes. It started out on Dave and
Heffe's personal land and eventually, more quickly than not, grew to
mass proportions. Thousands of hookahphiles embraced their grace, as the
boys would take the stage for a weekend endeavor of their own. It was so
much fun that they decided to have two of them, one in the spring and
one in the fall. To this day that tradition continues and folks from all
around the country unite on common ground with one common interest.
Hookah and all their hookah friends. The transition of the bi-annual
festival has grown just like they have, moving to bigger venues and
attracting a lot more walks of life. Right before the fall Hookahville,
late in the summer of '94, the band released their second studio
release, dubbabuddah, at the end of the first week of August with
a party at the Newport. By the turn of the year, the band already had
aspirations to attempt a live recording. They taped a run of shows at
the beginning of the year, only to release it on a double CD set. By
this time the band was on a roll. They had released three CDs on their
own label and were gaining momentum. They had established a bi-annual
party that had grown into proportions of thousands strong. It was them
seeing the light at the end of the tunnel to the big leagues.
The
irony of it all, is that all this time the band was having an interior
struggle with the out of control attitude and behavior of front man
Mullins. They tried to help and asked him repeatedly to get help. To do
what was needed to be done so that they could function properly as a
band. It was tearing them apart and eventually would have destroyed any
hopes of all of the members to stay together as a whole. Attempt after
failed attempt, something had to be done. It was the bands hardest
decision they had yet faced. They were about ready to release into
stardom and they couldn't go onstage without a gloom casting over their
heads. Like Dave says in Utopia, "you've got to do what makes you
happy". They had to confront John. He actually proved to them on a
southward swing in the fall of '96 that it just wasn't working and it
was time to part ways. The band then dismissed the lead singer and
rhythm guitarist.
Despite
the criticism of their loyal fans and following, which to this day they
still get flogged and ridiculed for outside their circle, it was their
only means of survival. The guys had to make a decision, a tough one at
that. They needed another front man, someone available that was not only
lyrically talented, but played rhythm guitar. Someone they could live
with on the road and get along with for years to come. According to
Dave, there was only one legitimate choice. That was someone that came
out of the same mold. A Wednesday night open mic'er and Local Color
product by the name of Ed McGee. The true test of whether or not the
band could overcome the single most hugest step of their careers was
about to be determined. Their crowds dropped in half and a lot of people
had abandoned ship. Others were upset and frustrated. The amount of core
friends and believers was reset back a few years, but they would end up
being the ones to help them get back on their feet and let their magic
twirl around them until the dazzle was back in the beat. It took them a
short bit of time to reformat the pieces to the puzzle once more and
regain the tightness they once had. This didn't take too long before
there was a sense of new freshness in the air. There were new songs, a
new sound and a new direction, one that has the weight to carry on with
the big boys. They released their third studio release, and first
release with frontman, McGee. Where the Fields Grow Green debuted in
1998, with the release of two more to come, a "bootleg"
release of the Spring 98 Hookahville and shortly after, Sharp in the
Flats, another double-live release recorded at the Odeon in the Flats on
the lakefront in Cleveland. They have since come across a few mile
markers. They have touched down on the west coast a number of times and
graced the stage with many other top notch performers. Their Hookahville
festivals have grown to enormous proportions. The band's enthusiasm and
passion for what they do shows in their performances, as well as their
personal lives. Each and every time they play, they seem to get better
and better. Their intimacy and friendliness toward the people that enjoy
their work is effervescent with the love that they bring to the stage.
Recently, in the winter of 2001/2002 the band released their latest
studio album, Seahorse. Unofficially not considered one of their best
CDs, it remains on many of the top selling albums lists in the their
genre of music. They have since gone back in the studio for their next
future release. They have also recorded two more runs of shows in March
of 2002 at the Agora in Cleveland and the Newport in Columbus for future
live releases. They continue on the festival circuit in the summertime
and play to 1.000 plus venues in the wintertime. Their repertoire of
songs has grown into the hundreds, with new songs, both cover and
original, being released live on a monthly basis. They continue to grow
and prosper on a regular basis. So, for many years to come, I hope the
tradition continues. I wish them entire happiness and the best of luck
in striving to do what they want. Make music their own way.
sdtl~
dub
|
